Work Text:
The Citadel
The small group stepped into an empty plaza. A mother and 3 children, one still just a baby in her arms, followed a man as he paced further into the open space.
"This doesn't look right" the woman insisted "I think we've gotten lost."
The man looked up from the glowing screen of his omnitool. She was probably right, but he didn't want to admit it. Though just as clean as the rest of the Presidium, the small plaza they entered seemed dusty and old. There was a feeling of abandonment only found in places long ignored. There wasn't much there, just a semicircle of steps leading to a view of the water where a statue stood. The statue was of a woman in armor, her features somewhat faded with time, looking up towards the sky. A small ship rose from her feet to spiral around her on a gleaming jet trail. Even with her features faded, you could tell she would have been quite pretty and you could just make out the N7 logo on her armor.
One of the children, a dark haired boy no older than 8, stepped to the man and tugged on his sleeve. "Daddy? Is that The Shepard? It looks like my comics."
The man looked at his son's excited face and sighed. "I've told you before, The Shepard isn't real. The Reapers were horrible monsters who came a long, long time ago and all of the races had to work together to fight them. There isn't any one person who won the war. We all had to work together. She's just like the other heroes in your comics. She didn't actually exist".
"HMPH! How quickly you humans forget".
The voice was impossibly deep and rough, seeming to resonate like distant thunder. The boy's eyes widened and the man spun around, only to find himself face to face with one of the largest and most ancient Krogan he had ever seen, which honestly wasn't hard since he had not met many Krogan. How someone so massive had gotten so close without him realizing, he didn't know. Crystal blue eyes gazed from under silver plates covered in scars. Those eyes seemed to pierce him. Looking into them, the father felt a sense of great time, of having seen and fought amazing, horrible, impossible things and come out the other side, and strangely, considering his likely age, there was a thirst for more there. Though very old, this Krogan was not done yet. The thirst to find incredible, impossible, dangerous things, and conquer them glowed in his gaze. The Krogan blinked, breaking the spell, and took a step back with sigh. He looked down at the boy, now hiding partway behind his father. This strange, ancient giant knelt awkwardly on one knee and motioned to the him, smiling crookedly.
"Come on out, I won't hurt you. What's your name little one?"
The boy looked up at his father and back at the krogan. "Nathan. My name is Nathan." He pointed behind him at his nervous mother with his younger sisters. "That's my mom and my sisters, Amy and Sarah. I'm the oldest. Both of them are littler than me, Sarah can't even walk yet"
As Nathan talked he slowly edged around to stand next to his father to look this strange monster in the eye. The Krogan nodded while listening to him "So," he said, meeting his wondering stare "you like The Shepard, huh?"
Nathan nodded enthusiastically, but then looked sad "Yeah, but everyone says she isn't real. Is that true Mr. Krogan?".
The elder krogan reached forward a taloned hand and ruffled the boy's hair. The show of gentleness from such an intimidating example of a hard race shocked the man, but he relaxed a little because of it. "No little one, it isn't true. The Shepard did exist. I know because I knew her."
He took the boy by the hand and led the boy and his father, the others following behind, down toward the statue and eased down to sit on the last step. The boy eagerly sat in the clear space in front of him, waiting anxiously for what he would say. The krogan looked him in the eyes while his family came down the steps around him. "The Shepard was an amazing, brave, and definitely crazy woman and I knew her very well. My name is Grunt, and Shepard was my mother."
Nathan looked at him confused "But you're a krogan!"
"Hehehe yes I am. See, I wasn't hatched like most krogan. I was made and grown in a tank. She let me out. Not only that, but she decided to teach me. Not only how to fight though, which all Krogan need to know, but she taught me how to BE. Of course, I wasn't the only strange child she had. She and her turian bondmate adopted many orphaned children after the war and cared little for what race they were, just that they were needed. But listen well, and I will tell you about the amazing, impossible woman who came to be known as The Shepard, and the crew of the Normandy who became her family." The family settled around to listen as he started his tale.
An Asari started to step around the corner into the plaza and then stopped, backing up to not interrupt the scene before her. A glowing AI came up next to her.
"Doctor T'soni..."
"Hush, not now".
Liara leaned against the corner watching her mate with pride. Grunt had grown and changed so much, but then, so had she. It had been a millennia after all. That was even why they were there. The Citadel was having a huge 1000 year celebration of the end of The Reaper War, and of course, Grunt had to spend some time in Shepard Plaza with the memories of their friend, his mother. It had been centuries since she had passed. She and Garrus had lived long, happy lives, but Asari and Krogan lived longer. They liked to spend some time each year with the memories of their friends and family who were long gone. Watching Grunt, sitting on the steps, a small boy now sitting on his leg with a girl in front of him and parents on either side, she listened as he spun out their great adventures. Gesturing excitedly as he brought Shepard and their friends to life once again for new eyes to see.